A cross section of medical professionals who belong to
the Joint Health Sector Unions have faulted the erroneous impression created by
Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and described it as a blackmail.
Some of the health workers, including Pharmacists,
Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists, Physitherapists said that the ongoing
strike doesnot have anything to do with rivalry with doctors but about abject
neglect of welfare of their members.
Ihuoma Jeffry, a health worker at the Federal Medical
Centre, Yenagoa said that there was a wide gap between the pay of medical
doctors and other healthcare professionals in the sector and they wanted the
gap to be narrowed.
“In the health sector, there are other professionals, we
are not asking to be paid the salaries of doctors, we do not claim parity with
doctors but we are at a loss why the NMA is having sleepless nights because
federal government is dialoguing with us.
“Only last week, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr
Chris Ngige who is a medical doctor cautioned the NMA to steer clear of
FG-JOHESU negotiations aimed at restoring industrial harmony to the health
sector.
“We applaud the courage and forthrightness of the
Minister to his own professional colleagues and this is a clear signal that
there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“It is sheer cruelty for doctors to oppose calls for the
improvement in the welfare scheme of fellow professionals in the sector,” she
said.
The attached chart will buttress our argument on the need
to thinker with the pay structure for the overall interest of justice, fairness
and harmony.
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